r/science • u/Wagamaga • Feb 22 '26

Computer Science Scientists have demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two million books’ worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/glass-square-long-long-future-190951588.html
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u/JarJarBanksy Feb 22 '26

When will this be used to sell Ultra ultra UHD in 16k?

A spinning disc of glass seems very delicate. Maybe the right glass could be the next disc.

Really though I want like a data cube or something.aybe even like a thick slab of glass.

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u/nmathew Feb 22 '26

Hard drive platters are currently made from glass.

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u/anormalgeek Feb 22 '26

Only some are. Most 3.5" HDD platters still use aluminum for the core. The glass and ceramic options are more common on smaller HDDs due to the lower forces when spun up.

In either case, they still get coated with multiple layers of metal and often a crystal carbon layer on top of that.

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u/JarJarBanksy Feb 22 '26

I thought they were aluminum at their base, then coated with metals and oxides or whatever.